Duke of Northumberland is a title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland.
1551 creation The title was first created in the Peerage of England in 1551 for John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick. He had already been created Viscount Lisle in 1543 and Earl of Warwick in 1547, also in the Peerage of England. In 1553, Dudley advanced the claim of his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, to the English throne, but when she was deposed by Queen Mary I, Dudley was convicted of high treason and executed. An illegitimate son of one of his younger sons, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, Sir Robert Dudley, claimed the dukedom when in exile in Italy. On 9 March 1620 Emperor Ferdinand II officially recognised the title, an act which infuriated King James VI and I.
1683 creation George FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, an illegitimate son of King Charles II, was created Duke of Northumberland in the Peerage of England in 1683. He had already been created Baron of Pontefract, Viscount Falmouth and Earl of Northumberland in 1674, also in the Peerage of England. However, all the titles became extinct on his death in 1716 as he left no heirs.
Jacobite creation In 1716 Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton, was created Duke of Northumberland, Marquess of Woburn, Earl of Malmesbury and Viscount Winchendon in the Jacobite Peerage, by the Old Pretender. The title had no legal validity in the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1766 creation
The title was created for the third time in 1766 for Hugh Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (formerly Sir Hugh Smithson, 4th Baronet), who had assumed in 1750, by an act of Parliament, Hugh Earl of Northumberland's Name and Arms Act 1749 (23 Geo. 2. c. 14 ), for himself and his descendants the surname Percy, due to his having married in 1740 the daughter of Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (1684–1750), whose mother Lady Elizabeth Percy (1667–1722) was the last of the senior blood line of the ancient House of Percy, being the only surviving child of Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland (1644–1670). In 1749 King George II created Algernon (who had inherited the Dukedom of Somerset in 1748) Earl of Northumberland and Baron Warkworth, of Warkworth Castle in the County of Northumberland, with special remainder to his son-in-law Sir Hugh Smithson, 4th Baronet.Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.1037
The above steps formed a deliberate move to allow ancient names and titles of the Percys to be revived in the male-heir exhausted senior branch of the Dukedom of Somerset, which at that time was about to see its largest removal – to another noble but very cadet branch (a fourth cousin) on Algernon's death. Algernon was also created Earl of Egremont at the same time, with a different remainder.Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.851
In 1784 the 1st Duke was also granted the substantive title Lord Lovaine, Baron of Alnwick in the County of Northumberland, in the Peerage of Great Britain, with remainder to his second son Lord Algernon Percy, who succeeded and who was created Earl of Beverley in 1790, and thus it too became a courtesy title.
The 1st Duke was succeeded in the dukedom and associated titles by his eldest son, Hugh, the 2nd Duke, a lieutenant-general in the British Army. The 2nd Duke was in his turn succeeded by his eldest son, Hugh, the 3rd Duke, who in 1812, five years before he succeeded in the dukedom, had been summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Percy. The 3rd Duke later held office as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland from 1829 to 1830. He was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, Algernon, 1st Baron Prudhoe, the 4th Duke, who in 1814 had been created Baron Prudhoe, of Prudhoe Castle in the County of Northumberland, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The 4th Duke was an admiral in the Royal Navy and notably served as First Lord of the Admiralty in 1852. He was also childless and on his death in 1865 the barony of Prudhoe became extinct while the barony of Percy (which could be passed on through the female line) was inherited by his great-nephew, John Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl. The Admiral was succeeded in the dukedom and remaining titles by his first cousin, George, the 2nd Earl of Beverley, eldest son of the second son of the 1st Duke. The barony of Lovaine and earldom of Beverley have since been merged in the dukedom as courtesy titles.
The 5th Duke was succeeded by his eldest son, Algernon, the 6th Duke, who notably served as Lord Privy Seal between 1879 and 1880 under Lord Beaconsfield. The 6th Duke's eldest son, Henry, the 7th Duke, was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Lord Lovaine in 1887. The 7th Duke's eldest son, Henry Percy, Earl Percy, predeceased him. He was succeeded by his fourth but eldest surviving son, Alan, the 8th Duke, whose eldest son, Henry, the 9th Duke, was killed during the retreat to Dunkirk during the Second World War. Henry was succeeded by his younger brother, Hugh, the 10th Duke. In 1957, on the death of his fourth cousin once removed, James Stewart-Murray, 9th Duke of Atholl, Hugh succeeded as 9th Baron Percy, the title thus re-merging with the Dukedom. As of 2012 the titles are held by his second son, Ralph, the 12th Duke, who succeeded on the death of his elder brother in 1995.
Northumberland Estates manages : directly managing of forestry and of farmland, with approximately 100 tenant farmers managing the remaining bulk of the land.
Other members of the Percy family
Several other members of the Percy family have also gained distinction. Charlotte Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, wife of the third Duke, was governess of the future Queen Victoria. Lord Josceline Percy, second son of the fifth Duke, was a politician. Lord Henry Percy, third son of the fifth Duke, was a soldier. Lord Algernon Percy, second son of the sixth Duke, was a politician. Lord Eustace Percy, seventh son of the seventh Duke, was a politician who was raised to the peerage as Baron Percy of Newcastle in 1953. Jane Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, wife of the twelfth Duke, is Lord-Lieutenant of Northumberland since 2009. See also Earl of Beverley for younger sons of the first Earl of Beverley.
Estates and residences Country seat The seat of the Dukes of Northumberland is Alnwick Castle, which is located in Alnwick, Northumberland.
The traditional burial place of the Dukes is the Northumberland Vault in Westminster Abbey in London, the Percys thus being the last family to maintain such a privilege. The family vault is however nearly full and a new private graveyard has been created in Hulne Park near Alnwick.
Former residences Warkworth and Prudhoe castles were the residences of the Earls of Northumberland in the Middle Ages, and ownership was retained by the later Dukes. Both are now in the custody of English Heritage.
Albury Park is a former residence which has been converted into apartments, while the surrounding estate is still directly owned by the Duke.
Stanwick Park in Yorkshire was rebuilt by Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland in 1740, and remained as one of the family's secondary residences; it was often used as a Dower house by the wives of former Dukes of Northumberland. The Stanwick estate was sold by Alan Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland in 1922 as a result on death duties levied on his father's estate.
Estates In the 1883 edition of John Bateman's The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland, Algernon Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland's estates were recorded as spanning 186,397 acres across England, including 181,616 acres in Northumberland, 3,765 acres in Surrey, 882 acres in Middlesex, and 134 acres in County Durham, which produced a combined annual income of £176,048.
Bateman separately recorded the estates of Eleanor, Dowager Duchess of Northumberland, widow of the 4th Duke, as comprising a further 5,683 acres in the North Riding of Yorkshire, centred on Stanwick Park, which produced an annual income of £8,320.
London residences The family's London residence is Syon House in the outer-London Borough of Hounslow. From the 1640s until 1874 their London residence was the palatial Northumberland House located on The Strand. Northumberland House was sold to the Board of Metropolitan Works for £500,000 in 1874, and was then demolished to accommodate the expansion of Trafalgar Square.
In 1873 Algernon Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland took a long lease of a new London residence at No. 2 Grosvenor Place, which remained as the family's London home until the First World War. Henry Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland subsequently purchased the freehold of a large townhouse overlooking Hyde Park at No. 17 Prince's Gate in 1917.
Following the death of Alan Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland in 1930, his executors attempted to sell No. 17 Prince's Gate; the house was eventually sold in 1939 and repurposed as the Embassy of Ethiopia in London.
List of titleholders Dukes of Northumberland; First creation (1551) Created by Edward VI of England Image Name Period Duchess Notes Other titles John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland(1504–1553) 1551–1553 Jane Guildford Tudor courtier and general, regent for Edward VI, executed for high treason against Mary I Earl of WarwickViscount LisleBaron Lisle
Dukes of Northumberland; Second creation (1683) Created by Charles II of England Image Name Period Duchess Notes Other titles George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland(1665–1716) 1683–1716 Catherine WheatleyMary Dutton Illegitimate son of Charles II, died without heirs male Earl of NorthumberlandViscount FalmouthBaron of Pontefract
Earls of Northumberland; Third creation (1749) Created by George II of Great Britain Image Name Period Countess Notes Other titles Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Northumberland (1684–1750) 1749–1750 Frances Thynne Grandson of Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland Duke of Somerset etc. Baron Warkworth Hugh Percy (Smithson), 2nd Earl of Northumberland (1714–1786) 1750–1786 Elizabeth Percy,2nd Baroness Percy Son-in-law of Algernon Seymour, 1st Earl of Northumberland; created Duke of Northumberland in 1766 Baron Warkworth Baronet of Stanwick
Dukes of Northumberland; Third creation (1766)